Javanese Gamelan?

[Dylan King]

They have had a Gamelan room at UCLA for fifteen years or more. The people in the ethnomusicology department are quite a strange group. The university system is all about multi-culturalism, not truth. I remember when they cut the chicano studies department at UCLA and the students held a hunger strike outside Schoenberg Hall. I had seen many of the protesters pinkering around in the Gamelan room.

[Chuck Jackson]

Not to pick nits, but Gamelan Music is almost exclusive to the Island of Bali, so it is called Balinese Gamelan Music last I knew. It is wonderful stuff to relax to, the sound of tuned bells seems to resonate with my soul. It is well worth looking into. Someone should write something for the Gamelan Ensemble and Solo Tuba. Mellowsmokeman? You up to it?

Chuck

[TMurphy]

Not to pick nits, but Gamelan Music is almost exclusive to the Island of Bali, so it is called Balinese Gamelan Music last I knew. It is wonderful stuff to relax to, the sound of tuned bells seems to resonate with my soul. It is well worth looking into. Someone should write something for the Gamelan Ensemble and Solo Tuba. Mellowsmokeman? You up to it?

Chuck

Not entirely true. Yes, there is a style of Gamelan that is native to Bali, and it is called Balinese Gamelan. There is also a style native to Java, which is called Javanese. If I remember from my world music class correctly (which was about a year ago...), one is characterized by slow, methodical repetition, while the other is characterized by contrasting slow, fluid sections, and fast, frenetic, jagged sections. Don't remember which is which, though.

[Rick Denney]

Professor Becker has received numerous awards, grants, and Fellowships.

This is the only sentence in her resume that really counts.

As long as there is someone out there providing grant money to academics to study Indonesian music, there will be professors studying it.

I suspect it might have something to do with antiquity. Many places in Indonesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia have cultures that have been basically unmolested by western culture. For those who hate western culture, or who think it is hegemonic, such places are a protected haven.

Her resume tells me that she is much more into culture than music.

Rick "into music" Denney

[Sally Larsen]

I played in the Wesleyan University Gamelan while I was there many years ago, majoring in music and anthropology. I graduated in 1977, and the powerful experience of playing the great gongs has stayed with me. There is something unique about sitting between two huge gongs, waiting to punctuate, if you will, the intricately interlocking shimmer of the rest of the gamelan.

For me, playing in the gamelan was a complete musical experience - it had all the things I consider important in music: a real community experience (gamelans are the "town bands" of Indonesia); a truly beautiful and unforgettable sound; an extensive repertoire that had parts for any level of player; and, best of all, an earth-shaking bass.

I believe that playing music with other people, and learning the music of other cultures, can offer hope and understanding.

And this discussion reminded me of a fellow gamelan musician who used to play what he described as "Zen tuba" - making the most beautiful note possible on the tuba, purely for the joy of it. Wayne Forrest, are you still out there?

[Rick Denney]

Music is culture and culture is integral to music.

Of course. I didn't mean to come off as cynical as my post sounded. If Dr. Becker can interest students and grantors in her interests, then blessings upon her house.

But don't underestimate the importance of those grantors. Part of persuading the world that a subject is worth studying is persuading those with money to fund that study. Grantsmanship is a critical skill in the academic world, especially at bigger universities.

Sally's post was excellent and separated the cultural interest from the purely musical interest, justifying both. I think it's a useful line to draw even if it's fuzzy.

Rick "wondering why world music programs don't study polkas" Denney

[TubaRay]

Rick "wondering why world music programs don't study polkas" Denney

I believe I know the answer to this one. It is because polkas are part of the "evil" Western culture.

[Chuck Jackson]

I think we need to combine both Gamelan AND Polka Music and call Polkalan. I bet I could write up a grant, fudge the data showing that Polka Music IS the Root of ALL Western and Eastern music, write a book and get a tenured position at a major University. What does everyone think?


Chuck"Hey, It Could Happen"Jackson

[TubaRay]

Hey, it could happen!